We are proud to once again recognize the exceptional students and faculty selected by the graduating cohorts for awards. These members of the Rady community are thought leaders and changemakers, and they uplifted those around them throughout the challenging cirumstances of the pandemic.
The Robert S. Sullivan award, named in honor of the Rady School’s first Dean, recognizes students for a high level of leadership and contributions to the Rady School and larger UC San Diego community. The Dean’s award is given to students who epitomize our school values. Here are the award recipients, as recognized by each graduating cohort.
Full-Time MBA
Robert S. Sullivan Award
Kayla Winter
Excellence in Teaching
Hyoduk Shin, Jimmy Anklesaria Presidential Chair in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Associate Professor of Innovation Information Technology and Operations
Most Valuable Professor
Vish Krishnan, Jacobs Family Chair in Management and Engineering Leadership, Technology and Operations
FlexEvening MBA
Robert S. Sullivan Award
Angela Garais
Dean’s Award
Veronica Zax
Excellence in Teaching
Michael Finney, former Visiting Associate Professor
Michael Finney, former Visiting Associte Professor
Master of Professional Accountancy
Robert S. Sullivan Award
Yingyuan Tong
Dean’s Award
Siqing Lyu
Excellence in Teaching
Robert Schmidt
MostValuable Professor
James Deiotte, Executive Director, Master of Professional Accountancy
Master of Business Analytics
Robert S. Sullivan Award
Miloni Shah
Dean’s Award
Ganesh Baleri
Excellence in Teaching
Terrence August, Jerome Katzin Faculty Fellowship, Associate Professor of Innovation, Technology and Operations
Most Valuable Professor
Vincent Nijs, Associate Professor of Marketing, Associate Dean of Academic Programs, and Co-Director of the Master of Science in Business Analytics Program
The global Rady alumni community has become even better connected during the pandemic. Over the past two years, MSBA students and alumni have developed a strong networking program to expand their connections within the Rady community—across San Diego, the Bay Area, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. As they graduate with strong quantitative and analytical skills and embark on their job search, students are connected with alumni working for industry leaders including Petco, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Kimberly-Clark, EY, Deloitte, and the Mayo Clinic.
In early 2020, Snehanshu Tiwari, Vishnu Sharon Ramesh, and Sakshi Sharma (all MSBA ’18) contacted MSBA faculty, offering their support to the graduates who would soon be entering the pandemic job market. Coffey Zhang (MSBA ’20), then a student, co-led the effort of matching alumni with current students based on shared interests, desired industries, or functions. Alumni volunteers met virtually with students to assist with needs including resume review, interview tips, and job referrals. “Essentially this is a long-term relationship you’re building,” says Zhang, who became an alumni lead for the program in 2021. “It has been a very fulfilling experience for me to help the students.”
Anshul Sachdev (MSBA ’21) was a student lead for the networking effort in 2021. When he entered the MSBA program in fall 2020, he began connecting with alumni and assembled more than 100 contacts to form a WhatsApp group called The Rady Alumni Interaction Network (TRAIN). Zhang, Sachdev and their co-leads’ efforts led to increased alumni engagement, and even more students supported in the initiative’s second year. Zhang says that Professor Vincent Nijs was instrumental in fostering connections across cohorts. “Without him being the glue between cohorts, we couldn’t have done it.”
Vishnu Sharon Ramesh, Data Science Tech Lead for Sinclair Broadcasting, was among the initial group of alumni who offered to help. “All the students I have interacted with have been very thankful, grateful and most importantly quite eager to learn.” He says, “The school propelled me to be where I am today and for that I will always be grateful. I will be extremely proud if I can contribute in any small way to the school’s future successes.”
Diego Amenabar (MSBA ’20) agrees, “As you can imagine, it has been an opportunity for me to expand my own network.” The Head of Advanced Analytics for Latin American retailer Cencosud says, “Usually, people only think about expanding their network by connecting with people with more experience, alumni, and so on. But there is value in expanding your network with younger people and from different cultures. You never stop learning.”
Success stories from the networking initiative are plenty. Sanya Khera (MSBA ’21), who helped organize the 2021 effort, was able to match with mentors who leveraged their Rady MSBA into product manager roles. Sachdev also had success, connecting with an alum who helped him secure a referral interview within a week of their first meeting. Organizers of this networking effort say that plans are already in the works not only to continue it next year, but to expand it, including to other programs. “All alums are assets for the school and for each other,” says Sachdev.
MSBA Students and Alumni Lead Virtual Networking Program at Rady was last modified: April 8th, 2022 by Camille Cannon
Since its founding in 2012, the StartR non-profit accelerator program has provided resources, mentoring and access to funding opportunities to more than 230 teams. The program is offered in six tracks—Rady, Inclusion, Impact, Veteran, Teen and Blue, each providing unique opportunities to learn from experts and receive guidance for building a sustainable business. In total, companies that have participated in StartR have gone on to raise more than 158 million dollars.
Traditionally, twice a year, StartR teams have the opportunity to pitch their startups in front of the San Diego business community at a live event called StartR Demo Day. While the event will not occur in-person due to social distancing guidelines, the show will go on February 16th in a virtual format. Get familiar with the StartR teams below, and RSVP to attend Demo Day here.
MPact International
A scalable platform designed to measure and understand diversity of perspectives, openness to change, and psychological safety in organizations. Because when employees feel valued and safe, customer value grows too.
Rooted Reusables helps companies meet zero waste goals by providing reusable food ware products and services. We are rooted in our mission is to eliminate the dependence on single-use plastics and other single-use alternatives.
Microdosed, cannabis-infused seltzers with 2mg THC and 6mg CBD for a light, uplifting, social buzz; whether for celebrating, socializing, or hanging out, Lift Seltzer is here to provide a refreshingly new type of experience.
TrueVote is a social platform for empowering Americans to be politically informed and engaged, in order to increase trustworthiness, accountability, and ultimately effectiveness throughout our political ecosystem.
Zack Doherty
Kryos
We are developing the most powerful portable cooling garments for personal and industrial use.
José Ricardo Suárez
Learn more about the Rady School’s California Institute for Innovation and Development and StartR Accelerator Program here.
Meet the Teams of StartR Demo Day February 2022 was last modified: February 9th, 2022 by Camille Cannon
UC San Diego’s Day of Caring, U.Care, takes place May 13-14th 2021. As part of our effort to support student success, we have highlighted UC San Diego’s Speech and Debate team and undergraduate clubs for your giving consideration. All gifts in support of UC San Diego Speech and Debate during u.care will be matched dollar for dollar up to $5,000 by an anonymous donor.
Growing up in Topeka, Kansas, Robert (Coach) Campbell idolized University of Kansas basketball star Wilt Chamberlain. Young Coach had dreams to follow in Chamberlain’s footsteps: representing his university across the country and filling trophy cases with hardware that glimmers like a college kid’s own smile after a hard-fought win. Coach achieved all of the above, but he did not do it on the basketball court. He became the winningest debater in the University of Kansas’ history. Since 2018, the seventy-five year-old Campbell has been building a nationally recognized speech and debate program right here at UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management.
It’s not common to find a collegiate speech and debate organization connected to a business school. Campbell, who ascended to executive positions across seven different industries, has taught undergraduate business ethics and marketing courses at the Rady School for over a decade. “I can credit my whole career to public speaking success,” he says. A Northwestern MBA graduate, Campbell built his career in financial services, ultimately becoming Chief Operating Officer of a billion-dollar bank. With more than 20 years banking experience, he then transformed companies including California’s second-largest insurance brokerage—developing strategic plans and negotiating deals that spared businesses from bankruptcy. Campbell also coaches UC San Diego’s Adwave and Commercial Real Estate teams.
Campbell’s professional expertise and experience are an invaluable component of the Rady School’s mission to develop future business leaders. In concert with a strong quantitative curriculum, opportunities such as speech & debate cultivate the public speaking and critical thinking skills essential to succeeding in business. It’s a sentiment that Coach believes in firmly and relays often. So much so, that his message on the importance of effective communication echoes from his students to their peers outside of the classroom.
Coach Campbell
In 2018, Coach was approached by two undergraduate students (who were not in his classes but had heard about his communications expertise) to resurrect their student-run speech and debate organization, which would be forced to disband without the support of a faculty advisor. “I’d been thinking about this since I came to Rady,” says Coach. “I took this as a sign.” Any fledgling organization needs wings to fly, and Coach agreed not only to be the club’s advisor, but their head coach, too.
Campbell’s impact on this team extends beyond both of those titles. He has invested innumerable hours over the past three years building a program that is now ranked third in the nation, Junior Division, by the National Parliamentary Debate Association. In his good humor, Coach jokes that his role is that of “a leader, a cheerleader and a sheep dog,” a combination that encompasses his passionate dedication to the success of these students. In pre-pandemic times, one would often find Coach on campus leading speech and debate practices until 11 p.m., holding court at a café for the team’s general business meetings, driving the team to competitions throughout Southern California (in “Ruby,” his red Ford Explorer and the adopted team mascot), and walking for miles across said competition sites to celebrate each student.
The speech and debate team celebrates their success (photo taken pre-pandemic)
“The amount of work that goes into coordinating this team is beyond a full-time job. The fact that he does all of this is unbelievable,” says Vice President of Coaching Jasmine Moheb. “He is my superhero in every way possible.”
Moheb, who studies political science and international relations, first fell for speech & debate while in high school in Woodland Hills, CA. She joined the UC San Diego team in the fall of 2018, and has helped shape the organization as lead coach to her fellow student coaches, working closely with Campbell. In addition to building a close community, Moheb says that helping other students build their public speaking skills has been the most fulfilling part of her speech and debate experience. “It’s a really exciting feeling to think that you’ve made a positive difference in someone’s life, that now they’re more confident or want to pursue a new path because they have these skills,” she says.
Jasmine Moheb
Earlier this year, Moheb was selected as an alternate in the prestigious Fulbright Cultural Exchange Program, and she credits her own speech and debate experience for her interest in policy work. Her long-term goal is to become an intelligence analyst in Washington D.C. “Debate is much more than picking a side and sticking to it. It requires you to think critically and articulate your thoughts. It requires you to stay informed and get a deeper understanding of the issues. You develop a drive to seek knowledge constantly,” Moheb says.
The pandemic put the team’s critical thinking skills to the ultimate test. As speech and debate programs across the country shut down, Moheb, Campbell and their team transitioned online. They continued to practice several times a week, and they introduced new styles of debate to their repertoire. Their persistence, as well as the now-virtual nature of competitions, led the team to debate against highly competitive institutions on the East Coast and abroad, such as Oxford University.
The team holds their annual banquet on Zoom in 2020
“The most rewarding part of this all is the pride I see on the faces of these kids when they realize they’re representing UC San Diego, and they’ve won,” Campbell says. “We started with a dozen kids in fall 2018. This year we surpassed 50, and next year we expect 50-70 as our reputation grows.” The organization is open to undergraduates and graduate students, and includes students across diverse disciplines and majors. Unlike some established debate programs, Coach runs his team as a “no-cut sport,” welcoming all students who have an interest, regardless of experience. “If you haven’t done it before, we’ll make you good at it. If you have, we’ll make you great,” he says. He’s not kidding. In the past year, team members participated in 20 tournaments and earned more than 60 awards, including 13 in first place.
As we inch closer to a more open world, the speech and debate team is anxious to build on a successful year in cyberspace. Growing this organization in size and status rests the on team’s ability to travel to competitions outside of Southern California (when safety guidelines permit). Ultimately, Coach says, this requires resources beyond what the team can expect as a student-run organization. His hope is that the team will be recognized as an official campus program, granting it more permanence and stable funding. “I feel a sense of urgency,” he says. “At 75, I may be running out of time!”
Much like he did for the University of Kansas, Campbell has led this team to many victories, as a full trophy case at the Rady School goes to show. More so, he has helped shape dozens of future leaders to engage in critical thinking, sharpening their communication skills and preparing them for successful careers.
“It’s purely out of his passion because he feels like it’s his calling to help this team,” says Moheb. “We need to find a way to really celebrate him. The world really needs to know what he’s done. But more than that, we need to implement the learnings he has taught us into our everyday lives. That is how we can truly honor Coach Campbell and the life-changing impact he has made on this community of students.”
UC San Diego Speech and Debate Team Ready for the Next Stage was last modified: May 10th, 2021 by Camille Cannon
“For me, a career in finance represents a way to help clients achieve their long-term investment goals, ensuring that they will be able to sleep soundly at night knowing that their capital will be preserved and grown,” says MFin student Aaron Kharwar.
Kharwar, who earned a B.S. in economics and M.S. in Finance and Private Equity, came to the Rady School to gain experience applying programming to finance and putting finance theory into practice. Post-graduation, Kharwar wants to pursue a career as a financial or investment analyst. “I am particularly motivated by responsible investing as a way of allocating funds to companies that have sustainable work practices, but also achieve high financial returns,” he says.
We talked to Kharwar, an admissions ambassador, about his experience in the program thus far, including experiential learning opportunities, collaboration with his peers, and the faculty who have been instrumental in his education.
About Aaron:
MFin ’21
Hometown: London, UK
B.S. in Economics and Management from King’s College London; M.S. in Finance and Private Equity from The London School of Economics
Previous internship experience in investor relations, investment analysis and insights
What led you to pursue your MFin at the Rady School of Management?
There were many factors that led me to choose the Master of Finance degree at the Rady School of Management. First, the MFin at Rady was designed to be a modern and innovative finance program, meeting the data-driven needs of the industry by equipping students with coveted skills in quantitative finance and data science. Additionally, the program culminates with a unique Capstone project where students will have an invaluable opportunity to work with leading financial firms on a cutting-edge research project. Attending Rady Preview Day also exposed me to the top-notch facilities on campus (including state-of-the-art Bloomberg terminals) as well as the exceptional faculty, who are motivated to innovate their classes with current research. The Rady School has an esteemed reputation in quantitative finance with Nobel Laureate Harry Markowitz.
What skills did you want to build on in coming to Rady?
I was very keen to learn how to apply finance to programming languages such as Python and I can assuredly say that, after two quarters, I have learned how to do that! The Rady MFin curriculum ensures that students have hands-on experience with Python in their core classes as well as a dedicated Collecting and Analyzing Financial Data class taught by Professor Michael Reher. My second core goal was to bridge the gap between finance theory and practice and representing Rady in the CFA Institute Research Challenge with my brilliant MFin classmates was a great opportunity to replicate the work of an equity research analyst. We wrote a research report on a local San Diego BioTech firm, valued the firm, issued an investment recommendation and presented our findings to a panel of CFA charterholders.
Kharwar and his peers compete in the CFA Research Challenge with academic mentor, MFin Executive Director Michael Melvin.
How have faculty made an impact on you so far?
The Rady faculty are at the top of their game in bridging finance theory with practice. In all of my classes, the professors have made a large positive impact by sharing fresh-off-the-press articles from the Financial Times or Wall Street Journal that cogently apply the concepts that we learned in class. We also went through several case studies that enabled us to immediately draw connections with the material and the real world. Professors also emphasize the importance of data-driven methods in Python as this a core skill that the financial industry is seeking. One quote that stayed with me was from Professor Rossen Valkanov in our financial econometrics class: “Liquidity… is like … love. Everybody knows what it is, but it is hard to explain.”
How have you been learning from your peers so far?
A unique offering from the MFin program is that our assignments are predominantly done in teams, which is highly rewarding as teamwork is common practice in the industry. From working with my peers, I have learned that ‘a problem shared is certainly a problem halved’. Through collaboration with my diligent peers, we shared productive ideas that led us to succeed in our assignments.
What are the goals of the finance club? What does your role as president look like?
The Rady Finance Club’s mission is to educate our members and affiliates in current topics in finance, support members in career development, and provide a professional, comfortable, and enjoyable environment to promote growth and support for each other. Upon graduation, we endeavor to inspire and empower members to become ethical and entrepreneurial leaders.
As President, I lead and work with my fellow club officers (across events, marketing and technology) to ensure that we bring the highest-quality events to the Rady School student community. I am particularly excited about our recent partnership with the CFA Society San Diego, that will empower students to succeed in investment management and pursue their CFA charter. My highlight of the Fall quarter was moderating our first virtual MFin Alumni panel and learning from the highly impressive alumni on how to succeed in the industry when we graduate.
What does your involvement as an admissions ambassador look like?
As an admissions ambassador, I enjoy speaking with prospective students and answering any queries that they may have about the MFin program or student life at Rady via email or Zoom call. Once we are back on campus, I also look forward to meeting incoming students in person and helping them make the most of their Rady experience!
What are your goals for after earning your MFin? How is this program preparing you to get there?
My goals after graduating are to break into the industry as a financial or investment analyst. The MFin program, with its deep variety of electives, offers students a fantastic opportunity to take classes from various disciplines (from computational finance methods to valuation in corporate finance). Recent talks at the Brandes Institute/Rady Summit and Rady Innovation in Finance Series have also been excellent to hear from experts in their field on current developments in finance and learn about how their work has been impacted by these developments.
I’m confident that Rady will provide me with an invaluable, diverse skillset that I can put to great use in an entry-level role.
MFin Student Aaron Kharwar On a Sustainable Future in Finance was last modified: May 10th, 2021 by Camille Cannon
We are proud to share that the Rady School is recognized as a Top-Veteran School by U.S. Veterans magazine. The list of schools was compiled from market research, independent research, diversity conference participation and survey responses.
Earlier this month, the Rady School also announced a new partnership with San Diego Military Advisory Council. We will provide research support for the annual Military Economic Impact Report (MEIR), for which associate professor Sally Sadoff will lead a data analysis, supported by a group of Rady School MBA students. The MEIR is an independent annual study to comprehensively quantify the impact of defense-related expenditures on the San Diego region’s economy.
The Rady School is proud to offer benefits to our Veterans, including:
We will waive the application fee current and former members of the military applying to any Rady MBA program. Please contact Graduate Admissions to receive the application fee waiver before submitting your application.
In the Spring and Fall, we offer complimentary GMAT Prep courses to eligible military veterans or active duty personnel.
As part of the Yellow Ribbon Program, we partner with the Veteran’s Administration to fund tuition and fee expenses that exceed the tuition and fee amounts payable under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
Our StartR Veteran program is a commitment to provide Veterans with entrepreneurial programs, resulting in greater confidence and increased skills as they transition into the civilian world. The program utilizes a “Veterans helping Veterans” approach, providing participants with inspiration, support and mentoring throughout the 10 session program.
The Rady School’s small size means that our career management center can provide individualized attention as you assess your strengths and explore the career path that is right for you.
Hear from Rady Veteran alumni about their experience:
“Being accepted to Rady was a life-changing experience and really solidified the transition plan I had from the Military to the civilian world.” – Robert Sweetman II (MBA ’19)
“Being a former counterintelligence agent, I’m very inquisitive. I’m always asking questions and I always want to understand what makes things work and why. When I was able to see the touchpoints that the Rady program has relative towards healthcare, technology, broader sciences and business, [it was clear that] they don’t just you these individual disciplines. They teach you how to blend them all together in order to actually make it function. That’s what the Rady experience was for me. That was the most valuable thing they gave me: to take a dream and turn it into reality.” – Clay Treska (MBA ’19)
Rady School Recognized as a ‘Top Veteran-Friendly School’ was last modified: June 23rd, 2020 by Camille Cannon
Teigan MacDonald was working on her application to the Rady School’s full-time MBA program while sitting in a hotel hallway in Fall 2018. She had traveled to Marietta, GA, to compete with her rugby club, the San Diego Surfers, in the Women’s Premier League National Championship. Teigan scored the first try of the match (like football’s touchdown) and the Surfers defeated the Glendale Merlins 34-28. That championship marked the second of three in Teigan’s rugby career, and the beginning of her new career.
Born and raised in Modesto, CA, Teigan earned a B.S. in biology and minor in economics from UC San Diego. When she began her undergraduate studies, she thought she might like to work in a bioengineering lab. “I took my first lab class and I absolutely hated it,” she says. “I hated not having windows and not being able to talk to people. It’s a very individualized experience.” Having spent most of her life playing–and thriving–in team sports, Teigan realized that the lab environment wasn’t for her.
Inspired by family members who’d studied economics, Teigan began taking coursework that blended her interests, such as economics of the environment and economics of healthcare. “I loved that you could take a class [on these subjects] and apply business concepts to them,” says Teigan. She’d found her niche. Before she graduated, Teigan’s dad, a stock broker, recommended that she take a personal finance class, one of the Rady School’s undergraduate offerings.
“I remember walking into Wells Fargo Hall and thinking, ‘Why have I not been here the whole time?’” Teigan says. “‘Whatever I need to do, I want to [study] here.” she says. “I was able to meet Joe Pecore, a great instructor. I went to his office hours and he really helped me figure out what I wanted to do and why I should go get an MBA.”
Teigan began the full-time MBA program in Fall 2019. “What I’ve enjoyed the most so far about is the holistic experience I’m getting at a graduate school,” she says. “My undergraduate experience at UC San Diego was great, but I didn’t really have career networking or resume workshops. I wasn’t really close with my classmates because I was in classes with 300 students. When I came to Rady, I thought, ‘Wow, this is more than just going to school. This is building a career.”
This summer, Teigan begins a new role in sales support at ACADIA pharmaceuticals, where she works part-time as a commercial operations analyst. She says that working closely with Rady career advisor Stephanie Sindt earlier this year helped prepare her for a new challenge. “We had internship meetups every week before COVID. It was a great way to crowdsource and work as a group and get Steaphine’s expertise. We would prepare for interviews and work on our cover letters and resumes.”
Ultimately, Teigan says that her dream job is managing sales teams for a biotech or pharmaceutical company. It’s a role that combines the competitiveness she’s fostered throughout her life in sports, the knowledge she’s gaining in her courses, and the collaboration and experience she receives among her peers.
“People forget that you try to interact with people just like you. This program encourages you to work with different people and learn how other people operate and work,” she says.
Teigan says that her favorite Rady experiences so far include her fall marketing class, the career treks organized by the Life Sciences Club to San Diego companies such as Thermo Fisher Scientific and ResMed, and conversations before and after class with her fellow students. Despite the current challenges and activities on hold–including rugby–due to the pandemic, Teigan remains optimistic about her future.
“When I land an interview or get a chance to talk to a company I’m interested in, I feel like I’ve scored a try, because it’s just one step closer to my goal.”
Meet National Rugby Champion and Full-Time MBA Student Teigan MacDonald was last modified: July 20th, 2020 by Camille Cannon
As the shelter-in-place orders find many of us exploring new hobbies—i.e. baking banana bread—and finding ways to fill time at home, MSBA student Diego Amenabar has been busy blogging. He has published two articles on the popular blog Towards Data Science. Not only that, but earlier this year he started his own website, Healthy-Analyst.com, where he tracks data from wearable devices to inform his health decisions, and hopes to inspire others to do the same.
What do you enjoy about writing?
I made myself a goal to practice my writing skills and what better way to do that than to write interesting blog posts? It all started trying to create a portfolio of my work for future job applications. To be able to publish some works, I need original ideas so I can also try to publish them in an important website. That’s how it started and I’ve had lot of fun and new knowledge in the journey. I will probably keep writing while I have ideas that are worth to share.
What made you decide to pursue an MSBA?
I think information is going to drive companies in the near future. Being able to understand it and get insights from it is going to be a basic skill. Many people ask why an MSBA and not a Master in Data Science, and from my end, the most important part about using information to drive a company is to being able to “read” the data in the context of the business for it to be useful. For this, MSBA is the perfect mix between technology and business.
What do you enjoy most about the Rady MSBA program?
It is an intensive program. Coming from years of industry experience, some in fast-paced companies and some in slow-paced, you start to appreciate when the intensity pushes you forward in achieving your goals, and learn [what you need to know] in the work environment. You do need to be responsible and be able to deliver on certain deadlines.
As the coronavirus continues to affect our public health and
economy, the pandemic has reintroduced words into our everyday vocabulary. What
does it mean to be “essential”? On what industries do we depend when so much
around us shuts down?
The first-ever virtual Rady Executive Breakfast Series will feature Hector Lujan, CEO of Reiter Affiliated Companies (RAC), the world’s largest multi-berry producer. On May 21st from 8-9 a.m., Lujan will speak about his experience navigating the pandemic in the agricultural industry. RAC is an exclusive grower of Driscoll’s varieties of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries across the United States, Baja California, Central Mexico, Portugal, Morocco and Peru.
Lujan, who holds a degree in business administration from Instituto Tecnologico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, México, has worked for RAC since 2002, and served as CEO since 2017. He previously worked four years with a Mexican financial institution and six years in the agricultural sector. Earlier this year, Lujan was named one of the most influential people from Mexico by Lideres Mexicanos, a business and leadership magazine.
RSVP to attend the Rady Executive Breakfast Series here.
The Rady Executive Breakfast Series is sponsored by Union Bank.
Rady Executive Breakfast Series Continues Virtually with Hector Lujan, CEO of Reiter Affiliated Companies was last modified: May 19th, 2020 by Camille Cannon
Over the past couple of months, the world has experienced changes, challenges and grief like we have never known. Each day brings with it new hurdles to overcome, but also new reasons to be hopeful.
The UC San Diego community is working tirelessly to find solutions to the obstacles we face as a result of the the pandemic. From critical research to combat COVID-19 to making masks for healthcare workers, we are proud to witness inspiring acts of resilience and care.
In recognition of the ways the community has shown care during crisis, and to support these efforts as the crisis continues, UC San Diego has organized u.Care, a “Day of Caring” from 6 a.m. on May 14-2 p.m. on May 15. During these 32 hours, our UC San Diego community is encouraged to share inspiring stories, and, if you are able, donate a gift of any amount to make a difference.
We are so proud of the many Rady School alumni, partners, staff, students, and faculty who have found ways to support others in this difficult time. We have shared several of these inspiring stories below:
You can also dedicate your gift to UC San Diego’s COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund and participate in a $350,000 match thanks to a generous challenge grant from The Conrad Prebys Foundation.
Richard Castle (FlexWeekend MBA ’13), the co-founder and president of Cloudbeds, a hospitality management software, launched the #HospitalityHelps initiative. The online platform facilitates connections between hotel properties that want to make their beds available to healthcare agencies, organizations or individuals who need them. Within a few days, the more than 1.2 million beds had been pledged at HospitalityHelps.org.
Alumni working at the Scripps Research Institute are conducting a study to improve the real-time surveillance of contagious respiratory illnesses such as COVID-19 using data from smartwatches and activity trackers. Through the app-based DETECT study, Katie Baca-Motes (MBA ’09 and Director of the All of Us research project), Royan Kamyar (MBA ’10, physician and CEO and founder of Owaves app) and project manager and incoming MBA FlexWeekend student Lauren Ariniello, along with their colleagues, are crowdsourcing anonymized data across the United States.
“By evaluating individual changes to
heart rate, sleep and activity patterns, as well as logged respiratory symptoms
and diagnostics test results, the Scripps’ team hopes to complement traditional
public health surveillance methods, potentially leading to earlier detection
and containment of current and future outbreaks in various geographical
locations,” said Baca-Motes.
Three MBA 2021 students have organized a GoFundMe campaign to manufacture and distribute 3D-printed mask kits. Since organizing the campaign in early April, Amir Hassan and Nicholas DiGirolamo (MBA ’21) and Mark Schultzel (FlexWeeend MBA ’21) have delivered more than 500 face mask kits to local organizations in need.
Snehanshu Tiwari, Vishnu Sharon R. and Sakshi Sharma (MSBA ’18) contacted Professor Ken Wilbur to offer their help reviewing resumes, preparing for interviews or make introductions for current MSBA students graduating this summer. When Professor Wilbur shared this update on LinkedIn, even more alumni offered to help!
Sean Haggerty (FlexWeekend MBA ’17), founder of Protector Brewery, made curbside pickup and delivery available, in addition to offering the brewery’s supply of filtered water available to those in need. Protector Brewery has pledged to donate $1 from each order to Team Rubicon, a non-profit organization supporting veterans impacted by COVID-19.
Grace Evans Cherashore, a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council and Executive Chairwoman of Evans Hotels, is leading an effort to make hotel rooms open and available to healthcare workers. Medical workers who present ID at The Lodge at Torrey Pines, Catamaran and Bahia Resort Hotels are eligible to receive a discount of more than 50%. “The medical workers want to be in this fight as long as they can and a hotel allows them to be isolated,” Bill Evans, co-owner of Evans Hotel told 10 News. The Evans family has been a generous partner to the Rady School.
Jaden Risner and Clay Treska (FlexWeekend MBA ’19) founded Family Proud an app to help patients and their caregivers and loved ones manage their care, while they were students at the Rady School. In Spring 2020, the Family Proud platform was updated to include resources and support for those affected by COVID-19.
Steve Prestrelski (FlexWeekend MBA ’06) is the founder and chief scientific officer of Xeris Pharmaceuticals, which is offering its GVOKE Pre-Filled Syringe—an injectable treatment for diabetes patients who experience severe hypoglycemia—for $0 copay through May 31st.
The team at Indigo Marketing Agency, founded by Claire Akin (MBA ’10). prepared a list of tips for working from home. “Indigo Marketing Agency is a company run almost completely virtually by mothers of young children,” said Akin. “We saw so many of our clients struggling to adapt, so we wanted to offer our tips and tricks for working at home (even with small children) … I believe that we are helping our team members support their families and spend time with their children. It’s the best of both worlds and it provides a highly fulfilling lifestyle!”
Rady Alumni Board president Josh Kuss is the Senior Director of Commercial Strategy at Illumina and the commercial lead for the company’s San Diego Emergency Management Team. The team has been working since March “defining and implementing the strategies for how we keep Illumina’s employees safe, while ensuring supply to our customers, many of which are on the front line of SARS-COV-2/COVID19 research, tracing, and treatment. We tackled how to transition to work from home, and are now in the process of determining a sound return to work strategy,” said Kuss.
Academic Assessment Senior Analyst Christine McMahan volunteers with a national organization that has provided 100,000 masks for front-line workers. McMahan also offered to sew masks for Rady School staff and faculty in need. She made 65 in total, sewing every evening until she ran out of supplies.
Krithi Bindal (MBA ’17) is the founder and president of Aroga Biosciences, a regulatory writing biopharma firm which has been donating their scientific expertise to peer-review pre-print literature related to COVID-19 research.
“We are in a period of information overload,” said Bindal. “Misinformation about COVID-19, especially information lacking scientific rigor, can lead to significant risk to the public. I feel it is our duty as scientists to ensure effective communication and to help delineate scientific factual results from fiction. After all, our job as scientists is to find the truth.”
“The name of our company Aroga is based on the sanskrit term ‘arogya”, which means free of disease. We hope to continue to contribute to freeing the world of disease as we help to develop treatments for ailing patients. As we navigate these challenging times, our mission is unchanged and is stronger than ever.”
Sara Jones (Flex Weekend ’13) is the CEO of Plum Blossom Creations. She is offering free workshops on The Big Four of Mental Toughness.
“As an Unbeatable Mind student, I learned first-hand the power of the Big 4 of Mental Toughness in my fight against Triple Negative Breast Cancer. I used the Big 4 to feed my Courage Wolf, stare down my fears and thrive through the health crisis that threatened my life…
As lives were disrupted by homeschooling, layoffs, new routines and all the rest, I wanted to do what I could to help. As an Unbeatable Mind Coach, I had access to the four habits, tried and tested by warriors for 1000s of years, made simple and doable by Mark Divine, retired Navy SEAL through the Unbeatable Mind Academy. And I wanted to share those tools with others.”
To learn more about the Big Four of Mental Toughness, connect with Sara by email sara.jones@unbeatablemind.com or onLinkedIn. To sign up for coaching, visit https://bit.ly/UMCoachingwithSaraJones.
More ways in which the UC San Diego community is responding to COVID-19:
Medical school researchers launched “MyWellnessCheck,” an online platform to help identify how certain attitudes and behaviors may help increase well-being during a crisis.
UC San Diego Health is offering virtual appointments for people that have tested positive for COVID-19 but don’t require hospital care
UC San Diego physician-scientist Dr. Eliah Aronoff-Spencer, along with a team of researchers, built a rapid response platform to connect clinicians with answers to COVID-19 questions, resources and potential solutions to the challenges they face.
Read more about UC San Diego’s response to COVID-19 here.
Are you a member of the Rady School community who would like to share a story of care? Please fill out this form or email cacannon@ucsd.edu.
How the Rady Community Is Showing Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic was last modified: July 16th, 2020 by Camille Cannon